Spurs have reached an agreement to bring forward the signing of Schalke midfielder Lewis Holtby by six months.

The Germany international is now set to fly to London to complete the deal for a four-and-a-half year contract, which was due to go through in the summer.

The fee for Holtby is believed to be around £1.5m and his early release by the Bundesliga side comes despite the club's director of sport Horst Heldt last week insisting he would not allow the 22-year-old to leave on the cheap.

Spurs made their move to secure Holtby earlier following the serious knee injury suffered to midfielder Sandro during the recent draw with QPR.

A statement from Spurs read: "We are delighted to announce that we have reached agreement with Schalke for the immediate transfer of Lewis Holtby."

Schalke's Heldt described the deal as "the best solution for all concerned."